Intrareactive construction blocks are known and include blocks having projecting tongues or spurs which mate with complementary channels or grooves disposed in an adjacent block. While such spurs and channels may increase the mechanical integrity of a wall structure assembled from such blocks, the creators thereof invariably ignored the fact that construction block is generally cast into a mold and that the highly abrasive nature of the concrete employed in molding such block causes rapid and severe erosion in the mold. Further, the machines themselves lend to dimensional inaccuracies because they employ two parts which are not truly aligned during the block manufacturing process. As a result, the dimensions of block produced by these molds are not precise, that is, the blocks tend to become greater in both length and thickness the longer the mold employed to manufacture them is used, and schemes predicated upon absolute uniformity of the block just do not fulfill expectations.
Furthermore, some of the prior art construction block was provided with interior passageways suitable for housing subsequently installed electrical conduit. However, unless the mason erecting the wall knew exactly where the electrical runs were to be installed after the structure was completed, the passageways were essentially useless.
Other prior art construction blocks had hollow cells which could be filled with insulating material and the like during manufacture. However, when such cells were prefilled and the block was stored in the yard pending shipment, the insulating material frequently deteriorated in reaction to ultraviolet rays and the like impinging thereon and many of the blocks were rendered unsuitable for subsequent use.
It is therefore apparent that many of the prior art blocks which purported to provide dimensional stability and insulatability were shown to be impractical in actual use because the peculiarities of the block design prevented the ready construction of a wall which would meet all of the requirements of the Uniform Building Code, particularly, those regulations requiring bond beams, grout cells and like core-size requirements.